An August 2026 excavation at Grotta Maria Colombo in località Pattano, Montesano sulla Marcellana, recovered concentrations of large ceramic fragments associated with the Early Bronze Age, about 3,900 years ago.

The cave stands near the Calore River and the southern watershed between Campania and Basilicata. The finds were reported by Il Mattino Salerno and described in an official account by the Soprintendenza ABAP for the provinces of Salerno and Avellino.

Blocked deposits removed to reach the main chamber

According to the Soprintendenza, the excavation team removed roof-collapse deposits and a muddy landslide that blocked access to the main chamber. That work led to the recovery of concentrations of large ceramic fragments.

The available evidence supports a probable funerary and cultic interpretation of the cave, but the precise function or functions of the cave — funerary, cultic, practical or combined — remain unconfirmed. The evidence does not establish that every ceramic fragment was funerary, and the relationship between the ceramic fragments and any human remains, hearths or activity areas has not yet been publicly established.

Who carried out the work

The August 2026 campaign was conducted by O.R.T.A. ETS in collaboration with the Soprintendenza ABAP for Salerno and Avellino and the Municipality of Montesano sulla Marcellana, under a Ministry of Culture concession.

Scientific coordination was assigned to the SARAS Department of Sapienza University of Rome, with participation from the University of Michigan Department of Anthropology and the Bioarchaeology Service of the Museo delle Civiltà.

A cave with a longer research history

Grotta Maria Colombo was discovered in 2007. Earlier topographic and stratigraphic investigations took place between 2013 and 2015, carried out by the ORTA association and the SARAS Department of Sapienza.

That history matters for readers following the new finds: the 2026 fragments come from a documented sequence of investigation, not from an isolated discovery. The exact typology, number and condition of the recovered vessels have not been published, and the full stratigraphic sequence and chronology of the cave's different phases remain subject to ongoing analysis.

Part of a wider Vallo di Diano cave network

The cave forms part of a wider network of prehistoric and protohistoric cave sites in the Vallo di Diano. The research project also aims at broader archaeological valorization of the area.

No exact public coordinates for the cave entrance were found in the acquired documents.

What researchers will examine next

Further study of the ceramics and bone remains is planned by Sapienza and the Museo delle Civiltà. Pending study of the fragments' position, stratigraphy and association with human remains will be central to clarifying the cave's interpretation.

Until those results are published, the cautious formulation remains the accurate one: a funerary and cultic use is probable, but unconfirmed.